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By Christopher Oji
There was pandemonium yesterday, at the Idi -Araba area of Lagos, when commercial motorcycle operators, popularly known as okada riders, clashed with the police.
The police from the Lagos State Tasks Force had gone to enforce the state’s ban on okada in the area which is among the six Local Government Areas okada riders are prohibited by law and they were fiercely resisted by the riders.
It was gathered that after some resistance from okada riders, in the Hausa community, the police were able to seize about 180 motorcycles.
Daily Sun further gathered that a few minutes after the enforcement agency left the community, some Hausa youths came out in scores to protest what they tagged police brutality against them.
The youths, who were armed with dangerous weapons, such as daggers, machetes, clubs, bottles, stones and charms, barricaded the roads connecting many areas into Idi-Araba, chanting war songs.
Vehicles and commuters were turned back by the angry protesters who claimed that they were being humiliated by the Lagos State Government.
One of the protesters, Usman (aka Dongo), told Daily Sun that,” enough is enough of police harassment. We are tired of the police. They said they would ban okada, what do they want us to do? They said they banned it because someone was killed in Lekki, but this is Idi-Araba. Did they kill the person at Idi-Araba? They have carried my okada which I bought on hire purchase, where I will get money to pay back the owner. I am finished. But the Lagos State Government is going to fight crime very well this time around, because many of us will go into crime.”
Meanwhile, some hoodlums cashed in on the commotion to rob victims of their belongings.
A victim, Mathew Kobindi, said, “I was driving through Idi-Araba to Ilasamaja when I ran into the protesters. They were all Hausa people. They ransacked my car, took my wrist watch and the N70,000 in my car. One of them, who pointed a small gun at me, said he would have shot me if I didn’t speak Hausa. I escaped death by divine intervention. The state government should do something urgent about this okada issue. Other states, especially in the North, had banned okada, why is Lagos different?”
(Continued on www.sunnewsonline.com)
However, spokesman of Lagos State Task Force, Mr Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, dismissed the allegation by the Hausa community of witch-hunting them.
“We were at Idi-Araba to enforce the Lagos state ban on okada in six local government areas of the state. Idi-Araba happens to fall under one the LGAs. You know that enforcement is not an easy task. While enforcing the law, we were resisted, but we were not deterred as we were able to seize 180 motorcycles.
“The law is about restoration of sanity in the state. I don’t know why they are protesting. Idi-Araba was not the only area we have gone for enforcement. It is a continuous exercise. People should not bring in ethnic coloration to the enforcement of law and order in the state
On his own, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said that the video trending on social media happened many hours ago as the police had taken care of the situation.
“Task force went to the area to enforce the ban on okada riders in the area. The okada riders did not react, but regrouped when officials of the enforcement agency had left. If you watch the video very well, you will see that there were no policemen or police vehicles captured in the video. It was not really a clash, but a protest.
The PPRO said that normalcy had returned to the area and advised members of the public to go about their normal duties.
